Not long ago in Belgium, a 15 year old boy was about to make a call using his iPhone, when it exploded in his hand. This is just one of several shocking cases of supposed “Exploding iPhones” that have been reported throughout the European Union. Apple has promised a replacement phone to the young man, and though he was not injured and claimed only that he had a headache for a couple of days, some have reportedly not been so lucky. One young boy in France plans to request a full refund and file a lawsuit against Apple for damages, claiming that his eye was damaged by a piece of glass from the face of his iPhone when it exploded. There have been reports of Apple’s trying to cover up these incidents. One British family claims that they were asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement before Apple would agree to assist them with their claim. Apple insists that these are isolated incidents and that there is no cause for alarm.

The U.S. Technology Mammoth has sold more than 26 million iPhones to date and insists that there is no evidence to support a claim that their product poses a threat to the general public. That being said, an investigation has been launched by France’s General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) to ascertain whether or not Apple’s statement that the iPhone poses no threat is indeed the truth. In addition, despite that the fact that the European Commission has stated that Apple has been nothing but cooperative, it is still requesting that all 27 EU member states report any iPhone issues that that might surface via RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous consumer products.

Post By Lewis Van Tassel
Lewis is an Education Manager for
Omnistar Email Marketing Software

If you’ve logged on to the internet any time in recently, you more than likely have stumbled upon a headline or two (or likely more) about Microsoft’s exclusion of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) from their upcoming European release of Windows 7. In fact, Microsoft will not be offering any web browser as part of the Windows 7 operating system software.

The European Commission has been quite unhappy with Microsoft over the past several years, citing anti-trust issues regarding past releases of Windows OS Software. They have fined Microsoft nearly $1.7 billion as a result of their unhappiness and Microsoft, not surprisingly, is looking to avoid these fines in the future. Offering an alternative version of their upcoming OS software, one which the European Commission would be happy with, will delay the overall release of Windows 7, which is something that Microsoft is unwilling to live with.

The media, however, has somewhat distorted the facts regarding this issue, choosing to have the average European consumer believe that they will be unable to reach the internet with this new OS release. This could not be further from the truth. PC makers, such as Dell, HP, IBM, etc, plan to load the IE8 Software on their machines prior to shipping them to stores. Also, Microsoft will be presenting an “Internet Bundle” package that consumers will be able to purchase separately at the store. With large in-store displays and cashiers reminding customers at checkout, it will be virtually impossible to leave the store without IE8 software in hand. Microsoft believes also that the small percentage of users (roughly 5%) who will be purchasing Windows 7 to load on an existing machine will more than likely have the knowledge required to load a web browser of their choosing as well (Mozilla Firefox, IE8, etc). However, Microsoft has pledged that there will be a direct hotline for those who need help accomplishing that task.

There has been talk that Microsoft may yet need to seek out a different approach in order to appease the European Commission. One such approach would involve the use of a “Ballot Screen”. This would appear in front of the user at the first initial boot up of their machine. The user would then have a choice to make (presumably from a list) of which web browser they wish to use. Microsoft, however, believes that it has gone to great lengths in creating this new type of OS release and is hoping that the steps they have taken will be enough to satisfy both the European Commission and the European consumer.

Posted by Lewis Van Tassel
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Lewis Van Tassel is a Education Manager for Omnistar Affiliate Software and
Omnistar Email Marketing Software

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